Mrs. Doubtfire

Rating:
Summary: My stomach hurt because I laughed so hard!
Review: This movie is hilarious. Undoubtedly, this is Robin Williams at his best

Rating:
Summary: Funny, quite a bit!
Review: There's a lot of parts that are funny, but I can't tell them all. One part was when his clothes caught fire. Another was when he said, "Make me a woman," to his brother. And, I loved the part when he revealed himself to everyone. As well as the part when one of his kids finds out about him when he's in the bathroom. I would highly recommend this!

Rating:
Summary: Clever, but a little bit silly, and overrated.
Review: "Mrs. Doubtfire" has a lot of really funny moments, but all in all, it's a silly movie. Add two stars for people twelve and under; I feel that this would be a perfect kids' movie.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Comedy!
Review: This movie was great and funny and it had the all-star Daniel (Robin Williams). I would recommend this movie to everybody! The best part was when Mrs. Doubtfire had to reveal herself in front of everybody including his ex-wife (Sally field). I hope that you enjoy this movie.

Rating:
Summary: The Last Great Williams Comedy
Review: Hard to believe its already been ten years. William's hasn't done anything nearly this funny since. He seems to be getting more reflective and less whimsical in his middle age. A divorced dad pretends to be a middle aged british nanny to spend more time with his kids. Ingenious. Inevitable hilarity ensues. William's talent is in taking an obvious joke or set up and succeeding brilliantly whereas most other comedians would flail about and fall flat.

Rating:
Summary: Dude Looks Like A Lady
Review: Chris Columbus may have gotten more attention for bringing Harry Potter to the big screen than for anything else he's ever done. But as a fan of his screenplays for 80's hits Gremlins and The Goonies, I would argue that he has more of a knack for writing, than as a director. Mrs. Doubtfire is an exception to that rule and is his best film as the man in charge.

All cartoon voice actor Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams) wants to do is spend more time with his kids, Lydia (Lisa Jakub), Chris (Matthew Lawrence), and Natalie (Mara Wilson). When he learns that his ex-wife Miranda (Sally Field) needs a housekeeper, he comes up with a seemingly perfect plan, and applies for the job. With help from his brother Frank (Harvey Firestein), the perfect wig, a little makeup and a dress for all occasions, he becomes Mrs. Doubtfire, a devoted British housekeeper who is hired on the spot. Free to be the "woman" he never knew he could be, the disguised Daniel creates a whole new life with his entire family. Finding time to also keep an eye on his wife's new man Stuart (Pierce Brosnan) is icing on the cake.

Williams is just perfect, as the desperate but loving dad and as Doubtfire, hitting all the right notes. The transformation is amazing and makes for some outrageous moments. Obviously, Columbus knows what his star can do, making sure that everything else works. Field is great opposite Williams, Brosnan (pre James Bond) works as "the odd man out", and the kids act like real kids, rather than kids trying to be adults. Kudos to writers Leslie Dixon and Randi Mayem Singer for a good script (working off the novel Alias Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine) that presents as real a family dynamic as films can.

The DVD has an engaging audio commentary with Columbus as he takes us through the process. With Robin Williams around, I was also intrigued by the 30 minutes of deleted scenes, which though wisely cut, were still fun. The sit down interviews with Williams, Brosnan, Fierstein, and Columbus don't really add much but are still ok. The highlight of the extras for me though, had to do with the contributions of the late great Looney Tunes animator Chuck Jones, who did the open for the film. Seeing his original pencil test sketches and an on camera interview with him was a real treat. What a great man he was. As an Oscar winner for best make-up, you'll see how Williams became Doubtfire with footage of make-up tests and storyboards. TV Spots and the theatrical trailer top off the disc.

There's no doubt...Mrs. Doubtfire is a winner. Not since Tootsie in '82, has a man dressed as woman been more fun.

Rating:
Summary: "Mrs. Doubtfire" (Widescreen Edition) = Lots Of Fun!
Review: A first-rate cast and an innovative script helped make 1993's "Mrs. Doubtfire" a big movie hit. Robin Williams, Sally Field, and Pierce Brosnan display their individual and collective acting talents in "Doubtfire". I enjoyed each of their performances here. Brosnan's quiet, understated, and laid-back portrayal of "the other man" in Sally's life might often get overlooked in this film, but I think Brosnan's character plays very nicely against that of Mrs. Doubtfire.

But this film, of course, 'belongs' to Robin Williams. It's a veritable tour-de-force for Robin here, as he manages to juggle two different roles, seemingly with ease. A remarkable "two-for-the-price-of-one" performance. He literally "becomes" Mrs. Doubtfire when he dons that wardrobe and make-up.

And Sally Field, as always, is outstanding here. In a way, she has the rather thankless job of playing opposite the human twin-tornado (Robin) in this film. But Sally is able to shine through in her own right, in my view. She's always a treat to watch on the screen. And "Doubtfire" is no exception.

Sally went from co-starring in one blockbuster movie to yet another -- after wrapping up "Doubtfire", she next played Tom Hanks' mom in 1994's mega-hit (and "Best Picture" Oscar-winner), "Forrest Gump".

The "Mrs. Doubtfire" DVD brims over with special stuff. There are more than 30 minutes of "Deleted Scenes" on the disc, scenes that Director Chris Columbus was pretty much forced to cut out of the movie due to time constraints. Kind of a shame too, because nearly all of these deleted scenes are very good, and would not have been a detriment to the film at all, IMO.

"Doubtfire" co-star Polly Holliday, no doubt, is one person who wishes a few of these tossed-out scenes had made it into the final cut of the movie. Because nearly all of Polly's work was left on the cutting room floor it seems. But, at least, these clips ARE available in some fashion -- as an extra bonus on this DVD.

I've found myself watching the "Deleted Scenes" area of this disc as much as the film itself. Polly Holliday is an absolute riot in many of these scenes, as she interacts with "Mrs. Doubtfire". Polly soon finds out that Mrs. Doubtfire's "secret" concoction for keeping her garden looking like a showplace is not exactly the best thing for her plants. LOL!

The DVD also contains interviews with the cast, Makeup Tests, Storyboards, Trailers, TV Ads, and more.

Video looks quite good here, even though this 1999-produced DVD has not been enhanced for widescreen televisions. But the 2.35:1 non-anamorphic Widescreen picture still looks fairly sharp and clear, with good colors.

There's a Dolby Digital 5.0 Surround soundtrack on the disc; along with a 2.0 DD Surround track. There's also audio in French 2.0 Surround. Plus a Commentary Track by Director Chris Columbus.

Other Disc Info ....................

> Subtitles? -- Yes (English and Spanish).

> Disc is Single-Sided.

> Paper "Scene Selection" Enclosure is included, featuring a different picture than the one on the front cover, which is unusual.

> Number of Chapters (Scenes) -- 23.

Rating:
Summary: Funny!
Review: Mrs. Doubtfire is a good movie, it stars Robin Williams and he is very funny. He plays an out of work actor who gets divorced and when he doesn't get to see his children he comes up with a scheme to dress up like a house keeper/nanny when he hears that his ex-wife is looking for someone to clean the house and look after the kids while she is working so she hires Mrs. Doubtfire not knowing it is really her ex-husband dressed up as an old British house keeper. This is a very pleasant and funny comedy and I highly recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: Magical Hillarity
Review: This really is a wonderful film. Williams is too amazing as Mrs. Doubtfire and his rapid-fire one-liners and ad libs are outrageous. He creates such a real character here, that you long for her when she is not on the screen. The kids are great, Brosnan is fine and sympathetic. Sally Field is also good until she gives in and does her all-to-familiar-after-Sybil breakdown scene. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining if over-cutesy comedy
Review: Mrs Doubtfire is a sickly sweet crowd-pleaser that gushes sentimentality and features a five-year-old girl so unbearably cute you just want to punch her in the nose.

What saves the film is that it is genuinely funny, in both the physical comedy and the dialogue. Robin Williams is on top, laugh-out-loud form. There's no doubt it entertains, even if you have to endure the manipulative, trite and saccharine Hollywoodishness of it all.

By the way, any Brit would have seen through Mrs Doubtfire in a second: She claims to be English, but her accent is clearly Scottish; and she seems to think England is an island.